JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Digital mental health (DMH) programs can be effective in treating and preventing mental health problems. However, community engagement with these programs can be poor. Understanding the barriers and enablers of DMH program use may assist in identifying ways to increase uptake of these programs, which have the potential to provide broad-scale prevention and treatment in the community.

Objective:

To identify and compare factors that may influence participation in DMH programs in practice and in research trials, identify any respondent characteristics that are associated with these factors, and assess the relationship between intentions to use DMH programs and actual uptake.

Methods:

Australian adults aged 18 years and older were recruited from market research panels to participate in the study. The sample was representative of the Australian adult population based on age, gender and location. Participants completed a cross-sectional online survey assessing demographic characteristics, mental health symptom measures, attitudes and use of digital mental health (DMH) programs in practice and in research studies, and the factors influencing use in both settings.

Results:

Across both research and practice, trust in the organisation delivering the service or trial was the top ranked factor influencing participation, followed by anonymity or privacy and having adequate information. There was little variation in rankings across demographic groups, intentions to use DMH programs or mental health status. Usage intentions were a strong predictor of both current and past behaviour.

Conclusions:

Efforts to increase uptake of DMH programs or participation in research trials should focus on clearly communicating to users the legitimacy of the organisation delivering the program, the security and use of participant data and the effectiveness of DMH programs.